Video: At his Google Talk last month, Los Angeles chef Roy Choi discussed his new book, Kogi, his initial reactions to people talking bad about him, his Asian heritage, gambling and more. He also reads an excerpt from the book at the 21-minute mark, right before the Q&A session. Among his many good quotes is his take on making food accessible to everyone, a subject he tackled at MAD last year: “For the evolution and development of food, one of the first steps is we have to have open conversations about it … [It’s] sparking smart people like yourselves for us collectively to not talk about it but come up with systems and new processes to figure these things out … It’s taking vacant lots, creating kind of like hawker centers, creating outdoor eating environments for us to congregate and eat … The main thing is that we have to make food a part of the culture. ” The topic begins around the 27 minute mark. [Youtube]

From the national scene:

Food & Wine strengthens ties to celebrity chefs: “The magazine has tapped six Chefs in Residence to participate in brainstorming sessions and Q&As and report back from their travels. Content featuring the inaugural participants—Grant Achatz, Hugh Acheson, Mario Batali, David Chang, Eric Ripert and Andrew Zimmern—will appear beginning with the redesigned February issue.” [AdWeek]

Limited edition liquors are so hot right now, because customers like the idea of getting something special at cocktail bars. [AP]